Seat pedestal with vertical and swivel adjustments

ABSTRACT

A seat pedestal has upper and lower plates separated by a vertically extending double telescoping tube. To adjust seat height, a bat handle controlled toggle linkage locking arrangement includes a sliding bolt which engages any one of several discrete, vertically displaced, keeper holes formed in an intermediate one of the telescopic tubes. By turning the bat handle, a friction bite may be secured against the innermost one of the telescopic tubes to hold the seat in any of an infinite number of swivel positions.

llie States Patent [191 ahls 1 1 SEAT PEDESTAL WITH VERTICAL AND SWIVELADJUSTMENTS [75] Inventor: Robert A. Wahls, Evanston, Ill.

[73]v Assignee: Freedman Seating Company,

Evanston, Ill.

[22] Filed: Apr. 2, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 347,214

[52] US. Cl 248/162, 248/408, 248/411,

248/418 [51] Int. Cl Fl6m 11/30 [58] Field of Search 248/162, 407, 408,409,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,533,583 10/1970 Azim248/411 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 227,908 6/1963 Australia 248/402Nov. 5, 1974 360,111 11/1931 Great Britain 248/162 806.321 12/1958 GreatBritain 248/403 1,026,494 6/1958 Germany 248/407 1,219,290 6/1966Germany 248/411 Primary Examiner-Marion Parsons, Jr. Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Alter, Weiss, Whitesel & Laff [57] ABSTRACT A seat pedestal hasupper and lower plates separated by a vertically extending doubletelescoping tube.'To adjust seat height, a bat handle controlled togglelinkage locking arrangement includes a sliding bolt which engages anyone of several discrete, vertically displaced, keeper holes formed in anintermediate one of the telescopic tubes. By turning the bat handle, afriction bite may be secured against the innermost one of I thetelescopic tubes to hold the seat in any of an infinite number of swivelpositions.

11 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures P TEN Enuuv 5l974 v in w 3 3.845.926

PATENTEU NOV 5 I974 sum 3% 3 FIGQA FIGSB FIGQC SEAT PEDESTAL WITHVERTICAL AND SWIVEL ADJUSTMENTS This invention relates to adjustableseat pedestals and, more particularly although not exclusively topedestals for automotive seats such as those used in trucks, buses,mobile homes, farm implements, heavy construction equipments, tractors,and the like.

Vehicle seats of the described type share a number of common problems.First and presently foremost, they must meet highway safety standards ofgovernment and industry. Second, they must be sufficiently comfortableso that people will be willing to ride in them. Third, they should beeasy to operate, free of serious maintenance problems, and reliable inservice.

In addition to these general requirements for all automotive seats,there are special requirements for individual seating needs. One presentneed relates to swivel seats which may also be adjusted vertically. Forexample, it is convenient for a driver to face one direction when hedrives a vehicle down the street, and then to face another directionwhile the vehicle is parked and he operates a crane, shovel, or hoe, forexample. Or, a mobile home may include chairs which are occupied bypassengers who may wish to swivel about to look out a front, back, orside window.

Another reason for providing swivel chairs of the described type residesin the recent technicalprogress in both the seating and the automotivevehicular fields. At one time drivers simply drove vehicles and lookedthrough Windshields. Swivel chairs were neither necessary nor desirable.Multipurpose vehicles of the abovedescribed and other types are offairly recent origin. Simultaneously, the automotive seats have becomemore expensive because of both demand for comfort and new safetyregulations. At one time, drivers simply sat on seat cushions and no onecared about their kidneys, slouch, health, or safety. Then, as the usersbecame more aware of the reasons and needs for better seating, more wasbuilt into the seats and they became more expensive. Hence, it is nowmore important to make maximum use of a seat instead of building two orthree separate seats at each operator position.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide new and improvedseats of the described type. Here an object is to provide an automotiveseat which may swivel to any of an infinite number of horizontalpositions andadjust vertically to any of a number of discrete positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide relatively low cost,trouble free seating of the described type. Here, an object is toprovide seating which may be made with general purpose tools withoutrequiring a high investment of capital in special purpose tooling.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an automotive seathaving maximum flexibility so that it may be used in any of manydifferent types of vehicles.

In keeping with an aspect of the invention, these and other objects areaccomplished by providing a seat pedestal comprising upper and lowerplates separated by a double telescoping tube. A toggle lock arrangementengages any one of several discrete keeper members formed in one of thetelescopic tubes. By turning a handle on the toggle lock, a frictionbite may be secured against a second one of the telescopic tubes to holdthe seat in any of an infinite number of swivel positions.

The nature of a preferred embodiment of a seat for accomplishing theseand other objects may be understood best from a study of the followingspecification when taken in conjunction with the attached drawingswherein,

FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing showing the inventive seat;

FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically shows how the seat of FIG. 1 swivels in ahorizontal direction to any desired position;

FIGS. 3A and 3B schematically shows how the seat of FIG. 1 may be raisedor lowered to a selected discrete vertical position,

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the inventive pedestal showingthree handle positions for locking the seat, adjusting its horizontalswivel position, and adjusting its vertical position, respectively;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the pedestal looking in direction 55of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the pedestal of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the locking device showing the toggle mechanismin phantom;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the locking device looking upwardly indirection 88 of FIG. 7; and

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C includes three stop motion views which schematicallyrepresent the operation of the locking device.

The seat of FIG. 1 comprises seat 20, back 21, arms 22, 23, and pedestal24. The seat, back, and arms are of substantially conventionalconstruction. The pedestal 24 includes a double telescoping tube 26,having spaced parallel upper and lower plates 27, 28 attached thereto.The bottom of the seat is secured to upper plate 27 and the lower plate28 rests on and, preferably, is secured to the floor. A unitary doubleacting locking device 29, attached to an outside telescoping tube member32 (FIG. 4), controls both the height and swivel position of the seat.The double telescoping tube also includes an intermediate tube 34 and aninner tube 33 which are free to rotate with respect to each other,unless they are locked together by the device 29.

When handle 31 of locking device 29 is lifted to position Pl, it acts inone way to release a frictional bite on the inner one of the telescopingtubes 33 is released so that the intermediate tube 34 may rotate freelyabout it. The seat may then be horizontally swiveled left (FIG. 2A) orright (FIG. 2B). When the seat is in a comfortable horizontal position,the handle 31 is lowered to position P2 to frictionally bite the innerone of the double telescoping tubes 33. If the bite is too tight orloosens, it may be adjusted by rotating handle 31 in the directions A orB, respectively.

When the end of handle 31 is fully lifted to position P3, it acts inanother way and the seat may raise (FIG. 3B) or lower (FIG. 3A) to anyone of several discrete positions determined by a selection of one ofseveral vertically displaced keeper holes. The driver simply moves bathandle 31 to position P3, lifts or lowers his body weight, and thespring-loaded seat 20 follows his body movement. Then, the handle 31 isreleased to position P2, and a bolt in the lock 19 snaps into the firstdiscrete keeper hole passing before it as the driver thereafter lowersor raises his weight.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the inventive pedestal, per se, in side and frontviews, and FIG. 6 shows the same pedestal in exploded view. In greaterdetail, the principal parts of the pedestal are a double telescopingtube comprising an outer tube 32, an inner tube 33, and an intermediatetube 34. The outer tube 32 is perpendicularly welded to depend fromplate 27 which is attached to the bottom of the seat at holes H1.

The intermediate tube 34 is slidingly received inside the outer tube 32.A plurality of vertically aligned, incrementally spaced keeper holes 35are formed in the tube 34. Circumferentially spaced away from keeperholes 35 is a capture slot 40 which extends over the full traverseprovided for restricting the excursions of the seat in its allowedvertical adjustment. The keeper holes 35 are aligned with the lockingdevice 29. The capture slot 40 is aligned with a bolt 41 threadedthrough a nut (not shown) welded to the outside of the tube 32.

The inner tube 33 is perpendicularly welded to the base plate 28 used toattach the seat (at holes H2) to a floor or other supporting structure.The outside diameter of inner tube 33 slides freely inside the insidediameter of the intermediate pipe 34.

It should now be apparent that the plate 27 (and therefore the seatattached to it) is free to swivel horizontally with respect to the baseplate 28. The height of the seat is fixed by the extension of the doubletelescoping tubes 32-34. That extension is, in turn, fixed by the one ofthe keeper holes 35 which is selected to receive a bolt of the lockingdevice 29.

A spring retainer 43 is welded inside the intermediate tube 34. A spring44 is compressed inside intermediate tube 34 between plate 27 and thespring retainer 43. Therefore, if the bolt of lock 29 is withdrawn froma keeper hole 35, the person sitting on the seat may raise or lowerhimself in the seat, and the compression of spring 44 will automaticallyadjust the seat height accordingly. When the bolt of device 29 isreturned to normal, it snaps into the first keeper hole 35 passingbefore it.

The nature of the locking device 29 should be apparent from a study ofFIGS. 7-9. More particularly, an elongated U-shaped channel supportmember 50 is welded perpendicularly to the outside periphery of theouter telescoping tube 32. Also welded to the outside periphery of pipe32 is a cylindrical guide 51 having an axial bore for slidinglyreceiving a bolt 52, used to lock the vertical length of the telescopingtubes.

As seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, a bat handle 31 is connected to a two-armtoggle linkage mechanism 54. One arm of the toggle linkage includes apair of spaced parallel plates 55, 56 pivotally connected at 57, 58 tothe bolt 52. The other arm of the toggle linkage includes a threadedshaft 60 journaled at one end in a block 61 which is pivotally connectedat 62, 63 to the other end of the spaced parallel plates 55, 56. Theother end of the shaft 60 is rigidly secured to the bat handle 31 (whichis preferably molded thereon). A threaded nut 65 is pivotally secured tothe guide 50 at 66, 67. The threads are such that nut 65 and shaft 60cooperate as a nut and a bolt. Thus, when bat handle 31 is rotated indirections A. B, bolt 52 slides back and forth in directions C, D,respectively.

A coiled bias spring 70 wraps around pivot point 66 and fits between thechannel support member 50 and the bat handle 31, to bias it downwardlytoward position P2 (FIG. 4). This downward bias urges device 29 to alocking position and prevents the toggle from inadvertently releasing.

The operation of the toggle linkage in FIGS. 7 and 8 should now beclear. As the handle 31 is rotated, the shaft 60 moves longitudinally inthe nut 65 and the bolt 52 slides through the axial bore of the guide51. Thus, as seen in FIG. 7, by turning handle 31 in direction B, thebolt 52 may be pressed in direction D to bite against inner tube 33 forfrictionally engaging it and locking the seat in its swivel position. Ifthe handle 31 is turned in the opposite direction A, the threaded shaft60 moves in the other direction in nut 65. This pulls the bolt 52 indirection C away from the bite engagement with the inner tube 33 toallow it to rotate freely inside intermediate tube 34. The bolt 52 maystill project far enough through a keeper hole 35 to retain the verticalheight adjustment of the seat. In this manner, the bolt position maybeselected and occasionally readjusted thereafter.

As shown by FIG. 9, the locking device 29 has a threestep mode ofoperation. In a normal position (FIG. 9A), bolt 52 has captured both theintermediate tube 34 by passing through a selected keeper hole 35 andthe inner tube 33 by frictionally engaging the wall periphery of theinner tube 33. The two toggle arms 56, 60 are in an over center obtuseangle 72 position so that bolt 52 exerts a clamping pressure upon tube33 applied by the toggle linkage responsive to the leverage of thehandle 31.

To swivel the seat to any of an infinite number of positions (FIG. 2),bat handle 31 is raised to a first step position Pl which is slightlymore than the obtuse angle 72 and over center with respect to FIG. 9A.This handle motion slides the bolt 52 away from contact with the wall oftube 33 without disengaging the wall surrounding the keeper hole 35. Inthis position, the seat may swivel (FIG. 2), but it may not be changedin vertical height. The handle 31 may be rotated (as required from timeto time) to adjust the longitudinal length position of bolt 52 to apoint where the toggle passes over center from the locking obtuse angle72 of FIG. 9A to the unlocking at slightly less than the obtuse angle 72of FIG. 98. Once adjusted, there is normally no need to readjust therotary position of handle 31.

If the handle 31 is lifted further (P3) to an angle 73 which is muchsmaller than the angle 72, bolt 52 slides out of engagement with keeperhole 35 (FIG. 9C). The

seat is now free to rotate (FIG. 2) or to raise or lower (FIG. 3) overthe excursion permitted by bolt 41 riding in the capture slot 40. Theoccupant raises or lowers himself to his desired sitting height. Then,he returns the handle 31 toward the normal position P2. The bolt 52thereafter slides through the first keeper hole 35 passing before itunder the influence of compression spring 44, as the occupant shifts hisweight. The occupant also swivels the seat to a desired position. As thehandle 31 is pushed downwardly to position P2, the toggle linkage movesover center to a locked position (FIG. 9A) where all parts are clampedin position.

While the pedestal is described above in connection with a seat for anautomotive vehicle, it may have many uses. For example, it might also beused to support a table or the like.

It should now be apparent that the invention may find use in manydifferent environments. Therefore, the appended claims should beconstrued to cover all equivalent structures falling within the spiritand the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A pedestal comprising a double telescoping vertical tube including atleast a rotary-free tube, a unitary double acting locking means securedto an outer one of said telescoping tubes, means in an intermediate oneof said tubes for receiving said locking means to fix the telescopinglength and therefore the vertical height of said pedestal, and meansassociated with said locking means acting in one way for selectivelyreleasing or restraining the rotation of said tubes with respect to eachother so that they may or may not rotate with respect to each otherdepending upon the operated condition of said locking means andassociated with said locking means acting in another way for releasingsaid tubes so that they may telescope.

2. The pedestal of claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a toggleleverage device.

3. The pedestal of claim 2 wherein said keeper means comprises analigned series of longitudinal displaced holes in the intermediate tube,and a capture slot in at least one of said tubes for restricting thetelescopic excursion of said tubes to fix the allowable heightexcursions of said pedestal, said toggle cooperating with said holes andslot.

4. The pedestal of claim 1 and compression means inside said telescopingtube for urging said telescoping tubes to a fully extended position.

5. A pedestal for a seat comprising a double telescoping vertical tubeincluding at least a rotary-free tube, locking means secured to an outerone of said telescoping tubes, keeper means in an intermediate one ofsaid tubes for receiving said locking means to fix the telescopinglength and therefore the vertical height of said pedestal, said lockingmeans comprising a two-arm toggle linkage movable between threepositions, means responsive to movement of said toggle linkage to oneposition for selectively restraining both the rotation and telescopingof said tubes, means responsive to movement of said toggle linkage to asecond position for restraining the telescoping while enabling therotation of said tubes, and means responsive to movement of said togglelinkage to a third position for enabling both ,said rotation andtelescoping of said tubes.

6. The pedestal of claim 5 wherein said locking means comprises slidingbolt controlled in its longitudinal extension position by said togglelinkage, said sliding bolt being positioned to slide through said keeperholes and bite against an inner tube, and means for adjusting thehorizontal extemity of said bolt position.

7. An automotive seat pedestal comprising upper and lower platesseparated by a double telescoping tube means, bat handle controlledtoggle linkage lock means attached to an outer one of said telescopingtubes and engaging any one of several discrete longitudinally displacedkeeper means formed in an intermediate one of the telescoping tubes, andmeans responsive to a turning of the bat handle on the toggle lock foradjusting a frictional bite on a second one of the telescopic tubes forholding the seat in any of an infinite number of swivel positions.

8. The seat of claim 7 wherein said locking toggle linkage comprises twoarms which are movable between three positions, means responsive tomovement of said toggle linkage into one position for selectivelyrestraining both the swivel and height positions of said seat, meansresponsive to movement of said toggle linkage into a second position forretaining said height position while enabling alteration of said swivelposition, and means responsive to movement of said toggle linkage into athird position for enabling a change in both said swivel andheight'position.

9. The seat of claim 8 and compression means inside said telescopingtube for urging said telescoping tubes to a fully extended position.

10. The seat of claim 9 wherein said keeper means comprises an alignedseries of longitudinally displaced holes in the intermediate tube, and acapture slot in at least one of said tubes for restricting thetelescoping of said tubes to fix the allowable extremities of heightadjustments of said seat.

11. The seat of claim 10 wherein said locking means further comprises asliding bolt controlled in horizontal position by said toggle linkage,said sliding bolt being positioned to slide through a selected one ofsaid keeper holes and frictionally bite against an inner one of saidtubes, and means for incrementally adjusting the horizontal extremity ofsaid bolt position.

1. A pedestal comprising a double telescoping vertical tube including atleast a rotary-free tube, a unitary double acting locking means securedto an outer one of said telescoping tubes, means in an intermediate oneof said tubes for receiving said locking means to fix the telescopinglength and therefore the vertical height of said pedestal, and meansassociated with said locking means acting in one way for selectivelyreleasing or restraining the rotation of said tubes with respect to eachother so that they may or may not rotate with respect to each otherdepending upon the operated condition of said locking means andassociated with said locking means acting in another way for releasingsaid tubes so that they may telescope.
 2. The pedestal of claim 1wherein said locking means comprises a toggle leverage device.
 3. Thepedestal of claim 2 wherein said keeper means comprises an alignedseries of longitudinal displaced holes in the intermediate tube, and acapture slot in at least one of said tubes for restricting thetelescopic excursion of said tubes to fix the allowable heightexcursions of said pedestal, said toggle cooperating with said holes andslot.
 4. The pedestal of claim 1 and compression means inside saidtelescoping tube for urging said telescoping tubes to a fully extendedposition.
 5. A pedestal for a seat comprising a double telescopingvertical tube including at least a rotary-free tube, locking meanssecured to an outer one of said telescoping tubes, keeper means in anintermediate one of said tubes for receiving said locking means to fixthe telescoping length and therefore the vertical height of saidpedestal, said locking means comprising a two-arm toggle linkage movablebetween three positions, means responsive to movement of said togglelinkage to one position for selectively restraining both the rotationand telescoping of said tubes, means responsive to movement of saidtoggle linkage to a second position for restraining the telescopingwhile enabling the rotation of said tubes, and means responsive tomovement of said toggle linkage to a third position for enabling bothsaid rotation and telescoping of said tubes.
 6. The pedestal of claim 5wherein said locking means comprises sliding bolt controlled in itslongitudinal extension position by said toggle linkage, said slidingbolt being positioned to slide through said keeper holes and biteagainst an inner tube, and means for adjusting the horizontal extemityof said bolt position.
 7. An automotive seat pedestal comprising upperand lower plates separated by a double telescoping tube means, bathandle controlled toggle linkage lock means attached to an outer one ofsaid telescoping tubes and engaging any one of several discretelongitudinally displaced keeper means formed in an intermediate one ofthe telescoping tubes, and means responsive to a turning of the bathandle on the toggle lock for adjusting a frictional bite on a secondone of the telescopic tubes for holding the seat in any of an infinitenumber of swivel positions.
 8. The seat of claim 7 wherein said lockingtoggle linkage comprises two arms which are movable between threepositions, means responsive to movement of said toggle linkage into oneposition for selectively restraining both the swivel and heightpositions of said seat, means responsive to movement of said togglelinkage into a second position for retaining said height position whileenabling alteration of said swivel position, and means responsive tomovement of said toggle linkage into a third position for enabling achange in both said swivel and height position.
 9. The seat of claim 8and compression means inside said telescoping tube for urging saidtelescoping tubes to a fully extended position.
 10. The seat of claim 9wherein said keeper means comprises an aligned series of longitudinallydisplaced holes in the intermediate tube, and a capture slot in at leastone of said tubes for restricting the telescoping of said tubes to fixthe allowable extremities of height adjustments of said seat.
 11. Theseat of claim 10 wherein said locking means further comprises a slidingbolt controlled in horizontal position by said toggle linkage, saidsliding bolt being positioned to slide through a selected one of saidkeeper holes and frictionally bite against an inner one of said tubes,and means for incrementally adjusting the horizontal extremity of saidbolt position.